Controlling an autonomous vehicle based upon a predicted imminent lane change

An autonomous vehicle, comprising:

• a mechanical system;
• one or more sensors that generate one or more sensor signals;
• a computing system in communication with the mechanical system and the one or more sensors, wherein the computing system comprises:
• a processor;
• and
• memory that stores instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform acts comprising:
• identifying an eccentricity of a wheel of a vehicle nearby the autonomous vehicle based on the one or more sensor signals,
• identifying, based on the eccentricity of the wheel of the vehicle, a degree of misalignment between the wheel of the vehicle and a portion of a body of the vehicle, wherein the degree of misalignment is indicative of expected lateral movement by the vehicle;
• determining a longitudinal speed of the vehicle based on the one or more sensor signals;
• computing an expected trajectory of the vehicle based on the longitudinal speed of the vehicle and the degree of misalignment;
• and
• controlling the mechanical system based on the computed expected trajectory of the vehicle.

An autonomous vehicle, comprising:

• a mechanical system;
• one or more sensors that generate one or more sensor signals;
• a computing system in communication with the mechanical system and the one or more sensors, wherein the computing system comprises:
• a processor;
• and
• memory that stores instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform acts comprising:
• identifying an eccentricity of a wheel of a vehicle as captured in the one or more sensor signals generated by the one or more sensors;
• determining a position of the wheel of the vehicle relative to the one or more sensors;
• computing an expected lateral movement by the vehicle based upon:
• the position of the wheel relative to the one or more sensors;
• and
• the eccentricity of the wheel;
• and
• controlling the mechanical system based on the expected lateral movement by the vehicle.